On October 1, the 4th circuit affirmed a lower court decision, that if the Republican Party doesn’t want an open primary (and it is a circumstance in which the party is forced to nominate by primary), it is free to close its primary. The case is Miller v Brown.
Virginia has a unique law. The law says generally, parties may choose to nominate by convention or primary. But, if the party has an incumbent for a particular office who is running for re-election, he or she has the power to choose whether the party will use a convention or a primary. The ruling only applies to instances when the Republican Party’s incumbent has forced the party to use a primary. The ruling says, if the Republican Party is being forced to nominate by primary, then it can enforce a bylaw that excludes voters who have voted in a Democratic primary in the last 5 years (unless that voter signs an oath of allegience to the Republican Party).
The state Republican Party approved the oath of disaffiliation and gave each local party unit the option of using it. The reason for this, of course, was to prompt the current lawsuit. The state party has kept its fingerprints off the suit, except that it did file an amicus brief with the 4th Circuit.
Under the rule, anyone who votes in a Democratic primary after signing the oath is banned from Republican primaries.
In addition to primaries and conventions, the Virginia parties have several other nominating options.
The state is expected to appeal to the U. S. Supreme Court. Since the Republicans who brought the suit didn’t get everything they wanted, they may appeal as well.